Field
The described embodiments generally relate to wireless communication among electronic devices in a multicast group, including to techniques for managing a multicast group and for broadcasting content to different subsets of the multicast group.
Related Art
Many modern electronic devices include a networking subsystem that is used to wirelessly communicate with other electronic devices. For example, these electronic devices can include a networking subsystem with a cellular network interface (UMTS, LTE, etc.), a wireless local area network interface (e.g., a wireless network such as described in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard (which is sometimes referred to as ‘Wi-Fi®’) or Bluetooth® from the Bluetooth Special Interest Group of Kirkland, Wash.), and/or another type of wireless interface.
One wireless communication technique for providing content to multiple electronic devices leverages a multicast group. For example, the content may be broadcast to the electronic devices in the multicast group (which are sometimes referred to as ‘sinks’) using a unicast broadcast from a source. This communication technique allows resources (such as content generation and communication) to be shared, which can reduce the overall power consumption.
However, during a unicast broadcast, acknowledgments are not received from the electronic devices in the multicast group. Consequently, the quality of service may vary considerably among the electronic devices in the multicast group. In addition, this communication technique is inflexible and, therefore, is unable to, for example: address the different requirements of the electronic devices in the multicast group (such as different latencies); and/or respond to changes in the content.